Monday, November 9, 2015

Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli

Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli is a flavorful meal the whole family will enjoy! Strips of flat iron steak are cooked low and slow in a delicious sweet and savory sauce until they are fork tender and then are served over rice and steamed broccoli for an easy dinner any day of the week.

It's time once again for another great recipe find with the Secret Recipe Club! This month, I was assigned to the wonderful blog, Fit Mama Real Food. This blog is written by the talented Heather; wife, mom and fitness instructor. She wears many hats, but she really knows food! We LOVED this Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli recipe so much it's become a regular on my menu rotation!

I've been really into Slow Cooker recipes lately. They are just so easy. Get everything in the crock in the morning and let it cook all day. Slow Cookers really do make meal planning a little less hectic. Heather has a pretty extensive section devoted to slow cookers.

I loved other areas of Heather's blog too. So many recipes that looked and sounded good to me! I have a few bookmarked as MUST TRY recipes: This Orange Carrot Bread that will be part of this year's holiday menu and Crockpot Sauerkraut Soup because, um...sauerkraut...love the stuff!

What cut of beef can I use for Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli?

I only made a few changes to the recipe. I used a form of chuck, like Heather calls for in the recipe, but since Certified Angus Beef ® Flat Iron Steaks were on sale at my grocery store last month, and I stocked my freezer with them, I used them in this recipe. It was a GREAT choice, because it cooked up tender, but didn't fall apart like some beef can in the slow cooker.

Now I realize Flat Iron Steak is not a cut you would normally cook in the slow cooker (it's great in this Grilled Steak, Asparagus, and Blue Cheese Salad), but I'm here to tell you, it works as a choice for your slow cooker too! It is cut from the chuck, a cut of beef you would want to cook in the slow cooker, so why not use it here? If you can't find Flat Iron Steak, you can also use sirloin or round in this recipe. I just love using flat iron, because it literally melts in your mouth, it gets so tender.

The other change I made was not adding the broccoli to the slow cooker. I steamed it separate and just added it to the rice before ladling the beef and sauce onto the plate. I wanted to keep the broccoli nice and green because it's such a beautiful contrast to the dark beef.

I garnished this meal with toasted sesame seeds, like Heather, but added a few radish slices for color and crunch! So good!

Thanks Heather for a fabulous, easy slow cooker recipe.
I can't wait to make more recipes from your blog!